Will you be competing in Rio?

Competing at the Olympics is any athlete’s dream; it is the crème de la crème of competitions, publicised across the world, a chance to become recognised as the best in the world. That’s right the best in the world. So when someone asks me if I will be competing at Rio, I hope you can understand how amusing that question is.

It takes years and years of honing your craft, overcoming injuries and other obstacles on the way. I have so far been training for less than two years in this event; I’m practically a beginner. I think people need to understand that yes, it is obviously a dream of mine, but it’s a long-term goal. To put it another way, it’s like someone getting a new job in a company and someone asking you if you’ll be the CEO in a year’s time. Nothing is unattainable and you probably could become CEO at this new company, but it would take years, with numerous promotions, before it’s a viable opportunity for you. It’s the same for me in athletics, I can’t just jump straight to the top. I have a long way to go before competing at such a huge competition could be considered.

Competing at the Olympics is the last goal I have written down for my journey in Javelin; whether I ever make it or not who knows. It is the pinnacle of my goals. However, there are so many other competitions I would dream to compete at. There are: the European Championships, the World Championships, the Commonwealth games, the Diamond League, the British Championships and the list goes on. These are all goals of mine that I have written down, but there is a long list of goals that come before these to achieve first so that those can become a realisation. To put it into perspective, right now my goal is to continue rehabilitating from my injury and figure out how to throw sixty metres, with the hope to make the finals of the National Championships in the next two years.

I am still practically a beginner in my event and if I ever make it to any of the competitions I listed earlier, it will be towards the end of my career. It is something that will occur in six – eight year’s time, not in the next few years. That’s right, if you know how old I am, then you may have calculated that I’ll be 30-32 years old.

When I’m thirty-two years old

Firstly that probably comes as a shock to you as to why am I commiting so much of my life to something, especially as when I finally reach it, I will only be able to compete at that level for a couple of years. It is my dream and whilst I still have an opportunity to pursue it, I shall. Even if I get to compete for Great Britain once, my dream will have been achieved. Secondly I hope that you can now understand my amusement with the question ”Will you be competing in Rio?” It is a long way off and my focus is currently on achieving the attainable goals that are currently before me. It is a dream of mine, but I have many other dreams in the sport that supersede this dream.